Rain mars the final of Asia Cup Qualifiers

With one spot remaining in the 2018 Asian Cup, the United Arab Emirates and Hong Kong had started their match in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, with the winner set to proceed to the Asian Cup in the United Arab Emirates. The winner will face India and Pakistan in the group stages, with the United Arab Emirates heavy favorites to take home the match and proceed to the home tournament.

However, 15 overs into the UAE batting innings rain came into the match and threatened to blow the result over. The UAE has started slowly but had an opening partnership of 54. However, with dark clouds in the horizon and rain threatening to stop play, the UAE would lose three quick wickets before the umpires stopped the play.

All three UAE Batsmen that fell were beaten by Hong Kong's opening bowlers, with Chirag Suri making 11 off 40 deliveries, captain Rohan Mustafa making a duck off 8 balls and Rameez Shahzad only scoring 2 off 4 balls. The only shining light in the UAE batting attack has been the performance of Ashfaq Ahmed, who was not out on 43 off 40 deliveries when rain stopped play.

Of the bowlers, Tanwir Afzal had a wicket for 26 runs after bowling eight overs straight from the start of the match while first change bowler Aizaz Khan did significant damage with statistics of two wickets for just nine runs in 3.2 overs.

The greater shame is that there is no reserve day for the final, and if the game is to be called off due to the rain, the UAE will progress due to them finishing higher on the qualification ladder, despite already suffering a significant defeat at the hands of Hong Kong in the group stage.

The Asian Cup is set to take place between the 15th to the 28th of September, with all the matches being played in either Dubai or Abu Dhabi. Bangladesh and Sri Lanka will open the tournament, with India taking on Pakistan on the 19th of September already marked as a sell out before the tournament has even started.

India is the reigning Asian Cup Champions after beating Bangladesh in the finals in 2016. However, India will have to win this year's edition without their star player and captain Virat Kohli, who will be rested for the cup after the tour of England in order to be well rested for the West Indies tour of India and India's summer tour against Australia later this year.

The Asia Cup will serve as an excellent warm-up for other players who will be looking to sure up their spots in the team ahead of next year's World Cup in England and Wales.